Fall of Rome

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Transcript of Fall of Rome

The Decline of the Roman Empire Leadership & Government Religion Public Health Invaders Social Laziness Weak Leadership and Corruption Too much Military Spending drained the Government of Money People were forced to pay taxes to fund the army. Up to one third of a citizens total income was being sent to pay for military campaigns. The Empire had not established an election process for the emperor.Any General could march into Rome kill the Emperor and announcehimself the next emperor. In 73 years there were 23 Emperors and 20 were murdered. Political corruption ruined the governing bodies.The rich citizens were gaining government financialand land grants as the poor were merely taxed and leftto fend for themselves. The Empire had become too large to be effectively governed with the established system. Lack of new technology for communication made the Empire vulnerable to attacks. The army was forced to be spread thin in order to protect Rome's outlying interests. Traditional Roman gods. Introduction of Catholicism. The violent struggle between the two. Vandals - Germanic 'Barbarians' from the north were conquering parts of the northern empire. The Roman network of Roads allowed easy accesss for invaders to reach Rome easily without defense. Poor defense planning within the Empireallowed easy access for invaders. The outer edges of the empire werewell defended but the interior of the empirewas poorly planned for defense purposes. The Huns, which swept across Europe from Mongolia in the Far East, eventually came into conflict with those in Northern Europe. Barbarian tribes living in Northern Europe were divided by the attack of the Huns. This caused them to split in to two groups: Ostrogoths ("Eastern Goths") and the Visigoths ("Western Goths"). The Ostrogoth lands were soon completely taken over by the Huns, leading the Visogoths to seek protection with Rome. The Visigoths found much wrong with Roman Society, and soon began demanding fair treatment. When they were not given this, the Visigoths went on a rampage. Roman soldiers were sent to control the "barbarians" but the Visigoths defeated the Roman legions and killed the Roman Emperor Valens in the battle. Rome wasn't built in a day, and it didn't fall in a day. But how could an Empire so intent on world domination come to an end? The Roman Empire didn't end suddenly. Multiple factors determined the gradual decline of this once great empire. --A series of struggles continually tested the empire's strengths and the outer boundaries of the kingdom were found to be weakened and vulnerable.

Rome fell from the inside out.... The colosseum became the center of Roman entertainment. The citizens enjoyed gladiator fights, but between watching events and going to the baths, many Romans did not do much else. Rome's rulers also contributed to the growing economic problems by spending tax money on foolish things. Roman rulers would hold lavish parties, using tax money. Political corruption also made people less faithful in the government, which caused citizens to become more interested in entertainment than improving the society. Public health and environmental problems contributed to the decline. The wealthy Romans began having their water piped in, instead of using aqueducts, which lead many Romans to die of lead poisioning. The citizens were also exposed to many health risks from unclean streets as well as the carnage of gladiator matches. This contributed to declining health and spread disease. Many people lived in the streets, which further spread disease. The spread of Christianity made many Roman citizens into pacifists, making it more difficult to defend against the barbarian attackers. Also money used to build churches could have been used to maintain the Roman empire. The introduction and adoption of new religions divided the Roman society. Instead of having a common religion, Romans now had divisions within the society based on faith. Economic Trouble Resources were spread thin to maintain the large empire. Inflation caused high prices, which made life even more difficult for the highly taxed poor. The government was spending by far the most money on the military, leaving little left for much else. High unemployment and homelessness plagued Rome as the economic situation grew worse.